Best of April: The Month's Top Shots

Pipeline, Oahu. I managed to snap this freakish shot during a beautiful Hawaiian sunset. My friend Matt Catalano was filming underwater and by chance the water shifted over my lens at the perfect moment to capture him in action. With the barrel, the mountains and the underwater scene I can't imagine another image so perfectly capturing the North Shore experience.

Anchor Point, Morocco. The swell was a little inconsistent but the occasional set was double the size. The biggest it had been in a few weeks. My partner, Laura Hellyer, kept getting dropped in on and snaked by most of the guys out there as they were just frothing for waves. Frustrated, she stroked out to the top of the point, paddled deep and right into the wave of the day. Well overhead, it was a barrelling bomb! Everyone hooted and as she connected right through. I took this shot after the session (A highlight) and we watched the sun go down on the end of the point with an ice cold Casa! Perfect.

Somewhere in Andalucia. This is normally a fast and hollow left, but the odd set will break right, which catches everyone off guard. In this case there was a rider right in the sweet spot and he scored one of the waves of the day.

Salinas Grandes, Nicaragua. This winter I had the opportunity to work as in house photographer at the incredible ThunderBomb Surf Camp. Pumping waves became part of the morning routine, however, this particular morning the wind and tide all came together creating Golden peaks along this huge stretch of beach. One of those sessions that keeps a grin on your face for days to come.

Nazare, Portugal. This wave doesn't break often; you've got to be lucky enough to be around when it happens. This particular day, I was out there with my bodyboarder friend Bernardo Jerónimo and the waves were pumping. Solid sets coming through and a very critical take off zone with the rocks just a few feet away.
Because in Nazaré you never really know what to expect, it can be difficult to know exactly where to sit, because the north canyon can spit out some rogue waves when you least expect them. It's always a difficult decision choosing between waiting outside to avoid being swallowed by bigger sets. or to get medium sized ones and risk receiving a pounding.
On this wave, I tried to stall and go for the barrel but that too is a risk because of the almost dry shore break, which you always want to avoid. It's not easy to get barreled because when this wave comes, you don't have many days to learn it's "moods"; even more because the sand bank changes its profile a lot, hence varying the shape of the wave.For me, this is the best wave in the world, simply because breaks so rarely.

Sunset, South Africa. That was the first weekend we had proper swell on the Atlantic side in ages, and the forecast was clean, glassy and pretty solid! That morning I woke up early and while walking down my road to the beach a bomb pulled through at Sunset Reef followed by a huge set, framed perfectly in between the the gap in the dunes by the car park. I immediately stopped and set up my camera equipment virtually in the middle of the road. The framing was near perfect, and I couldn't move the slightest otherwise it would be out. I stood and waited another 10 minutes, directing cars around me, before the next outside set rolled through. This is one of the images from a sequence of that set. The guy's take off was a calm and collected glide, but as the wave pitched up and bottomed out, a bit of stress began to set in. As he made it to the bottom, it pitched, threw wide and exploded behind him as the lip hit. He made a wide bottom turn before pulling off on the shoulder with great celebration.

Somewhere in New Jersey. This shot was taken on the first day of spring. The weather was warmer than it had been in months and the waves were cold. It was a solid 5-6 foot and bigger on set and the lighting was perfect all day. The surfer is Chris Kelly and shot at about 10am. The whole day was a highlight. This shot in particular is great because of the sun's position at the time. This particular spot always attracts pros from the area and people from all over. The waves break very close to the beach and make it a great spot to shoot.

North Carolina Last fall, around October, the Outer Banks had about four consecutive swells over four weeks. My buddy Davo and I made the road trip for all four. We only live about 3 hours away so we do day trips up there all the time. We scored quality waves every time but it seemed to rain every swell we made the trip. In contrast, this day was just perfect! It was a Monday so there was a really mellow crowd. We actually found this peak just down from a very crowded peak. We had it for an hour to ourselves and then eventually two of our friends joined us. They weren't the biggest waves ever (about chest to head high) but every wave that came through was just a perfect a-frame. It was one for the memory banks because it wasn't a hyped swell. That's what surfing is all about to me; scoring perfect waves with nobody around.

G-Land, Indonesia. Shot during the Padang Cup 2011. 20-20's was well overhead this day too and barrelling mechanically for over 100m. Me and two friends had 20-20's all to ourselves all day and could watch the sets coming in from Kongs, through Money Trees and Speedies, thundering through Chickens and eventually churning perfect barrels at 20-20's. When we saw the bombie breaking it was time to start scratching for the horizon.

Llandudno, South Africa. This was shot at my local break, Llandudno, in Cape Town. Jasper (pictured) and I both live in Llandudno and made a mission to get some shots this day. This particular session was absolutely freezing. The waves were in around the 3ft - 4ft range and really hollow and shallow. I think the water was about 9 degrees (a 5mm wetsuit is a must!). When it gets that cold it also gets super super blue and clear. I have been trying to get some decent behind-the-wave angles for some time and whenever it gets this clear I probably spend more time underwater than above it.

Somewhere in South Africa. The surfer in the image is Rudi Breuninger, one of five guys lucky enough to be out on this day. After eyeing out the forecast a few days before, I knew we were in for something special. I hit the beach early to be greeted by a super long period swell coupled with light offshore wind and primed banks - as good as it gets for this spot. I had been shooting a different peak for a couple of hours before this shot was taken. The lulls were incredibly long, in fact, I almost missed this wave while waiting for the set. This wave is most certainly the biggest and most perfect I've ever seen at my local break. Let's hope lightning strikes twice.

Take a moment to celebrate a month when antipodal spots are both likely to be pumping. Spring has successfully pried open winter's grip on the Northern Hemisphere. Double digit surf forecasts are largely a thing of the past in Europe, and extra litres of foam are already being sought out for smaller days. This is, of course, a moment of transition. Throughout April, South Africa, Indo, Chile and Central America have all witnessed flurries of serious size, and the user photos sent in reflect this transition.